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New Organ Boosts Music Program

Submitted by Julie Huisingh on Wed, 1999-07-14 11:46

A new footprint for the music building at Hope means a leap forward for the college's organ students.

An addition being made to Nykerk Hall of Music's west side this summer is providing a new center for organ instruction, including a teaching studio, two practice rooms and office space. The construction follows the donation of funding for a new studio organ that will arrive on campus from England in October. The gift for the organ was made by Gerrit Hospers, a 1949 Hope graduate from Ontario Center, N.Y., who is a retired chemist and has also been a church organist for most of the past 60 years. The organ is being built by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd. of Suffolk, England, according to specifications determined by Dr. Huw Lewis, who is a professor of music and college organist at Hope. Lewis, who has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1990 and performs internationally, is pleased to see such a strong addition to Hope's organ program -- both for teaching and for his own work as a scholar and artist. "It was exciting to be able to design an instrument that will meet our needs so well," he said. "The Skinner organ in the chapel is nationally famous, and is a great attraction for organ students. This is meant to be a studio that I'll do a lot of personal work in, and it'll provide a quality location for teaching when the chapel is unavailable." The organ will be 20 feet wide and 12 feet high. The features designed by Lewis include two interchangeable pedal boards--one based on the modern design, and the other on the older, pre-19th century model--options that he feels will serve students well. "Increasingly students go abroad to play old instruments, and also increasingly in this country you find organs that are built along strict historical lines and which have the older style pedalboards," he said. According to Lewis, it's typical for such major studio and concert organs to be custom-built, and the company's involvement extends beyond construction of the organ alone. When the instrument arrives from England, technicians from J.W. Walker & Sons will spend five to eight weeks reassembling and tuning it. Lewis noted that the Walker company, which originated in the 16th century, is known worldwide. The company's organs range from the gallery organ at St. Martin in-the-Fields in London, England; to an organ in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England; to the organ in the town hall in Adelaide, Australia. Since coming into the Walker family in 1828, J.W. Walker & Sons has built and installed more than 2,000 organs around the globe. The addition's two practice rooms will house two of the smaller practice organs that the college has presently. Also in conjunction with the project, Lewis will move to an office in an already-existing part of the building that will open into the new studio. The cost of the entire project, including the organ and the addition to the building, is approximately $500,000. Work on the addition began in May. This summer's construction marks the second time that Nykerk Hall of Music, built in 1956, has been expanded. The building's "Wynand Wichers" addition, which includes a major auditorium as well as several practice rooms and faculty offices, was dedicated in 1970.